Determination and Strawberry Lollipops
by Bluegonfalon
Summary: In which Edmund reflects on how little his sister has changed, from a young girl to a great queen. Sibling Fic.


That day Lucy had made up her mind to go to school with Edmund had been years ago, but he still remembered it to the exact detail. He'd been nine years old, almost ten, about to head off for boarding school for the very first time. Peter and Susan had been going to boarding school for their school terms for nearly five years now, but Edmund had never been. He was nervous, and scared, though he would never admit it out loud.

_He had been taking his pajamas out of the chest of drawers, folding them, and carefully laying them in his suitcase (Edmund, even as a young boy, was a perfectionist), when there was a quiet, faint knock at the door. _

_"Nearly done, mum!" He called._

_The door opened slowly, revealing, not his mother, but the small, chubby figure of his little sister. She was clutching a bright red, strawberry lollipop in one hand, getting sticky candy juices all over her face. Currently, the lollipop was hanging idle in her hand, while she was sucking on a finger from her free hand. Her little sailor dress was covered in red candy juices and crumbs, no doubt from the lunch she'd had a little earlier._

_"...Hello Lu." Edmund said slowly, quickly latching his suitcase up tight so she wouldn't get a sticky mess on his nice, clean pajamas. _

_"Hoi Eddy." She replied, watching him with wide eyes. _

_"Why're you in here?"_

_"To give you dis!" She replied, toddling forward and holding up the lollipop as if it were the Olympic torch. _

_Edmund stared at the candy, and was torn between laughing and feeling disgusted. He was touched by his sister's affection, but...um...it was a half eaten lollipop and it looked like something the dog had dragged in. _

_"That's really nice of you, Lu!" He tried to put as much enthusiasm in his voice as possible. He couldn't bring himself to take the candy from her, not yet at least. It was still too terrifying, really._

_"I wanna come wif you!" She announced. "Archenwand needs us!"_

"What?" Edmund rubbed the side of his head as reality snapped back into place. He looked at his baby sister, his precious Lucy. She was a queen now, and a full grown lady of eighteen. A beautiful lady, with golden hair that literally shone in the light, a smile that reminded one of springtime in all its glory, and fair, white skin, from which came the light scent of strawberries. He smiled as he realized that her bright blue eyes were still wide and watching, though there was a spark of determination lit inside them as she held out his sword to him.

"Archenland needs us." Lucy repeated. "The Calormenes have gone too far this time. I am coming with you."

"Lucy..." Edmund sighed, as he took his sword from her and buckled it about his waist.

_He laughed, and took the lollipop from her, attempting to ignore the gooey, sticky mess that was now covering his fingertips. "You can't come, Lu! You're too young!"_

_"I'm six!" She exclaimed indignantly. _

_"You're still too little."_

_She drew herself up and stood as tall as she could. "I'm _big_!"_

_"Not as big as me, though." He replied, pulling his suitcase off the bed and setting it upright on the floor. "You can't come, Lu."_

The Valiant Queen gave a saucy toss of her hair. "Can too!" She replied with a light, breezy laugh. "You just try and stop me."

Edmund rolled his eyes, drew his sword, and held it up. The tempered steel of the blade caught a stray sunbeam as it streamed in through the window, causing a flash of light to bounce all around the room. Lucy blinked and rubbed her eyes.

"Brother!" She exclaimed. "...ow."

Edmund smirked, though not unkindly. "Methinks that Aslan is on my side, sister. Would you not count that as a great sign?"

Lucy gave him a sideways glance, raising a delicate eyebrow. "A flash of light against a sword is considered a great sign? One might as well say that the whistle of a kettle is a great sign. It occurs occasionally."

"This was a special occasion." Edmund retorted, nodding and attempting to smother the grin that threatened to reveal itself. He failed, and both he and his sister burst into giggles like the children that they had once been.

"Right...well..." Edmund sheathed his sword back in its scabbard and reached for his gauntlets, where they sat on the dresser. Lucy snatched them away and held them behind her back.

"I'm coming, Ed." She announced cheerfully.

"You do know that I own, (through Aslan's grace), three other pairs of gauntlets and they are all located in that drawer perhaps only one el away from me?"

"You miss my point, Edmund."

"And on purpose, too." Edmund said, stepping forward and, (simply to humor Lucy), reaching for the gauntlets she hid behind her back. "Come now, give them to me! Sister!"

Lucy shrieked playfully and held them just out of Edmund's reach. "Not until you agree that I must come with you and you cannot hold me back!"

"I can very easily hold you back." Edmund retorted, attempting to worm around her to fetch the gloves and failing as she outmaneuvered him. "I am the King. I am your elder brother. In our brother's absence...LUCY, IN THE NAME OF ASLAN, GIVE ME THOSE GLOVES! ...in our brother's absence, I am your guardian...LU! And I have a sword! Lucy, sister, I am armed. And dangerous. Give me back my gauntlets."

_"LUCY! WHAT'D YOU DO WITH MY BLUE STRIPED STOCKINGS?"_

_"I took them." She'd admitted to Mum after a frantic search that finally revealed them under Lucy's pillow. "I wann'ed to hug da stocks 'cause de're Eddie's. Eddie doesn't wike hugs. De socks do."_

_"So you stole my socks to hug them?" An indignant Edmund had snapped, frantically rubbing at the socks with a wet sponge to remove all the sticky strawberry lollipop juice._

_"I wann'ed to hug da stocks so dey'd hug Eddie later." _

_She'd started to cry then, and a beaming Mum had hugged her and comforted her. But she was so distraught; worried that she'd done something terribly wrong when she'd just been trying to be nice. So Edmund had swallowed his disgust at the strawberry lollipop juice and had put on the socks. _

_Lucy had stopped crying and smiled after that. _

_They'd gone down to the train station an hour later. Edmund pulled at and played with his new school uniform. It'd been ironed and starched within an inch of its life, and the little cap on his head was a size too small. But that couldn't be remedied until he reached school and requested a replacement. Peter, sitting next to him, was looking (and Edmund remember Mum using the exact word to describe him) magnificent. Susan, sitting next to Mum in the front seat with Lucy, was looking pretty as ever. They were relaxed, almost bored. Edmund was nervous and uncomfortable. _

_After pulling and dragging suitcases down to the platform and having them loaded on the train, nearly losing sight of his family, and having fallen down and scraped one knee, Edmund was finally ready to say one last goodbye before taking the plunge into boarding school._

_"Bye Mum." He said, cringing as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him._

_"My brave boy." She said, her voice choked with tears. "My grown up...strong...handsome young man." (Edmund cracked a small smile at that). She kissed him one more time. "You take care of yourself. Study hard, do as your teachers tell you, and eat your vegetables. Do you understand me, young man?"_

_"Yes'm."_

_"Good." She sniffed, and smiled tearfully at him. "Lucy, say goodbye to your brother."_

_Lucy hung back at her mother's skirts, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Don' go, Eddie." She whimpered pitifully. _

_"'M sorry, Lu." He muttered. "I have to go."_

_She'd been so brave up until that point. She had resisted hugging him. She'd hugged his socks in the hopes that they would hug him later. But she couldn't do it any longer. Lucy ran forward and wrapped her arms around her brother's legs and sobbed. "Don' go, Eddie, don' go and leave Lu all alone!"_

_Mum tried to intervene, but Lucy would not let go. Edmund was caught in an awkward situation in the middle of the train station. And behind him, the conductor was calling out, "All aboard, all aboard!"_

_"Ed." Peter called from behind him. "C'mon. We've got to board."_

_Edmund nodded, and somehow loosened Lucy's arms from his legs. "Bye Lu." He said briefly, uncomfortable at the sight of her tears. He picked up his suitcase, gave his mum and Lu one last wave, and turned to run after his brother._

_"No! Eddie!" Lucy shrieked, running forward. "'m coming with you!" She cried, grabbing hold of his blazer._

_"Lucy!" Edmund hissed in irritation. Strangers were staring, kids were snickering, mothers were exclaiming over the sight, and Lucy wouldn't stop clinging! In desperation, Edmund threw off Lucy's arms and knelt down in front of her. "Lucy, I'm leaving, I know, but I'll be back!"_

_"I don' wan you to leave!"_

_"I know...I don't want to leave either, but I've got to. And think of it this way. You'll get to see me when I come back, and it'll be all the better for missing me." The whistle of the train blew behind him. "I've got to go." Without thinking, he planted a quick kiss on her forehead, grabbed his suitcase, and rushed onto the train, just before the brakeman closed the doors. He breathed a sigh of relief. _

_Peter, who had waited for him so they could find a seat together, laughed at his reaction. "We have a determined sister. Get used to it." _

_"Ugh." Had been Edmund's only response. Peter laughed even more, and flung an arm around his brother as they headed off to find a seat._

King Edmund the Just, King of Narnia, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Table, and Commander-In-Chief in the absence of the High King, mounted his horse and wheeled to survey the rest of the cavalry. Humans mounting up, Centaurs strapping weapons to their sides, various unicorns polishing their horns at their sides.

A sudden flash of gold caught his attention, and he looked up to see a female, human archer riding towards him. Long, golden hair flowed down over her shoulders, deep blue eyes sparkled in her face, and she wore a very merry smile.

"I told you I was coming." Queen Lucy the Valiant said cheerfully, shrugging a quiver and bow into place on her back. "I am not one to go back on my word."

Edmund, though secretly amused and pleased, groaned. "The Valiant is not a proper title for you." He grumbled. "You should have been named 'the Determined'. Or 'the Stubborn'. Or even better, 'The Foolish-Minded Sister'."

"Queen Lucy the Foolish Minded Sister." Lucy repeated, and she bowed her head as a fit of giggles overcame her.

A horn call announced that the army was fully ready, catching the attention of the young King and Queen. Lucy looked over at her brother.

"Not leaving." She reminded him.

Edmund grinned absently. "Lu..." He said slowly. "I'm glad you're here."

Lucy smiled slightly, and handed over Edmund's gauntlets. "I thought so. Would you care for a strawberry lollipop?"

Edmund chuckled, took his gauntlets and set about putting them on. "You are impossible."

"And I love you as well."

* * *

_A/N: I don't even know where this came from. I just felt like writing a sibling!Fic and there just weren't enough of those between Edmund and Lucy. Hope you all enjoyed. :)_


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